Special Features

Halloween Special: The Scariest Moments in Gaming

Yes, zombie infestations can be scary, but if you're walking around with a 12 gauge shotgun, a 9mm pistol, and a knife big enough to make Crocodile Dundee feel a touch of envy, your fear factor is going to be a bit lower. This is why I've always liked the Resident Evil series, with my favorite being Resident Evil 4. While the game was moody, it never really scared me, thanks to my trusty boomstick and the basic principle of metal meeting propulsion.

However, this all changes when you find yourself playing the young, petite and completely defenseless Ashley later in the game. You must safely guide Ashley through dark corridors past creepy monks and avoid walking suits of armor determined to cut her into bite-sized pieces. It was definitely a relief when I made it through this section and got to return to playing as the very heavily armed Leon.

This is the only moment that ever caused me to stop playing a game and just go to bed. I remember it vividly. I was in my apartment in West L.A. and had decided to dedicate the night to playing through as much of Eternal Darkness as possible. Eventually I ended up in an upstairs bathroom. I figured this was a relatively safe area. The bathroom was nice and clean and completely unlike the ones in Resident Evil. The bathtub was empty and there was no sign anything horrendous could possibly happen here. Just out of curiosity, I decided to walk up to the bathtub to see if I could interact with it. The second I did an image appeared of Alex, the main character, dead in a bathtub filled with blood. To really hammer home the impact of this shocking visual was a woman's scream which pierced the silence.

I remember jumping in my seat, and then just standing up. I gazed at the screen for a while, then walked over to the GameCube, turned it off, turned off my TV, turned out the lights, and crawled into bed. It was only 10 p.m., but I decided to just wrap myself in my blankets and go to sleep.